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From Lincoln Young of Denver:

What does Colorado taste like?
A big, fresh slice of cheese pizza from Baked in Telluride.

From Chuck Edwards:

Of course we have distinct tastes of Colorado!

It doesn't matter where I go, I always must compare "green chile" to what Jason Sheehan calls "Colorado-style," the best of which is thick with chunks of quality pork and green chilis. Sure, we have our share of watery, orange, chunk-free and flavor-free garbage, but many places shine. The thick, biting stew from Cherry Cricket or the potent, porky "gravy" style from Campus Lounge are far better than what I tasted on several stops across New Mexico. Speaking of which, Jack-n-Grill's New Mexico-style green is ALSO better that anything I tried in Jack Martinez's home state.

Chiles relleno is another dish you just can't get in many places. I can't speak for most of Texas, but I know you can't get them in "the best restaurant in Houston," according to my uncle, because they never heard of it. A large number of Denver restaurants do either style very well, and the better ones make their bones with better green on top.

On Mexican food, in general, I quote my Cordon Bleu-educated son-in-law from Michoacan: "There is no yellow cheese in Mexico." We use it here for availability, but his statement helps split out "real" Mexican food from the Taco Hell image most Norte Americanos believe it to be. The menu at El Tejado, where you can see Mexicans cooking for Mexican families as the mariachis play, is typical of several great places to eat REAL Mexican food, made from recipes very similar to what I ate in Mexico City and in coastal towns. Is it because huge numbers of Mexicans are in the kitchens? Guess who is cooking at every restaurant in town?

Produce, especially peaches from the Western Slope. Illinois still has the world's best sweet corn, but Colorado comes close. We have as many wineries as many states and more than most, all producing wines that gain higher acclaim every day. Rocky Ford melons are world-famous. I actually compared Georgia peaches to ours, and guess who won the taste test?

And how can the city that claims inventing the cheeseburger not put one up for representation? Burger joints and fine restaurants in the 27 states and 13 countries I've visited have to stretch to match Cherry Cricket, City Grill and Bud's, among several others, in flavor, quality and bang-for-the-buck. I say this from the standpoint of someone who has dined "back of the yards" in hometown Chicago and the best steakhouses in San Antonio, both places known for exceptional cow.

The best accompaniments to those burgers are Colorado beers. With the suds so popular across the country, I believe we are either second or third in the nation in micro and craft breweries, with some shipping on a national basis. Every wonder why so many huge national breweries are weaving craft-style beers into their line-ups? It is no accident the Great American Beer Festival is here every year. You can even get handcrafted soft drinks, like Zuberfizz sodas from Durango.

So my suggestion to future festival promoters is simple: If you want to promote Colorado through its food, bring in COLORADO FOOD from Colorado restaurants.

By the way, I forgot to mention that Rocky Mountain oysters don’t taste fishy in any remote way. “Bull fires” taste like what they are. There’s the beef.

The tomatoes that my next-door neighbor grows on a tiny patch of North Denver dirt taste like memories of rural Italy circa 1900. Does that count?

Every day, Barbara Macfarlane shows what Colorado really tastes like at Marczyk's Fine Food, the market she owns with her husand, Pete. Here's here response to the question "What Does Colorado Taste Like to You?"

What does Colorado taste like? West Slope peaches. When I drive back from Telluride via Grand Junction, I stop at the roadside stands. They always have three different boxes: canning peaches, slightly beat up; really beautiful and ripe peaches; and the "don't touch these peaches" peaches. Which are huge and perfect.

Colorado tastes like goat cheese from Haystack. These guys have been working at this for years and years, and they now have a farm in Oklahoma, too. And it goes great with roasted peaches!

Colorado tastes, and smells, like beer. From Coors to Wynkoop, this state knows what it's doing in the beer department.